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DV4Mini - A Dongle for DMR, D-Star, and Fushio

The DV4Mini is a new device from a company called Helitron in Germany. It is similar to the DVAP used for D-Star, in addition to D-Star it supports DMR and Fusion as well. It's also much more affordable, about $100.

This device is a USB dongle with an SMA connector for an antenna. It has a low power radio, about 10mw. Plenty for connecting with a nearby radio. The provided software is for Windows, but it will run under Wine on Linux. They even provide an image for the Raspberry Pi. They have also made a commitment towards open source, so hopefully we'll see more versions of this software...like an Android version.

We are just on the edge of getting access to it here in the US, it's going to be interesting to see how people use it.

My interest is mostly in it's DMR capabilities, at this time, it's a little unclear how this device will work with the Motorola network. I understand there is a bridge that connects between a C-Bridge and a DMRPlus reflector. This connection to a reflector is where things start to get interesting.

The idea of being able to reach into other geographies is interesting, something I've experimented with on D-Star. I also like the idea of connecting back to my home area when I'm away from town. I would like to see my local group, the PAPA System, create a reflector for the local area.

Update 2016-Sep-13 - The creator of the DV4MF2 software has decided to stop updating the software. At this time the DV4 family of products is being designed to support the DMR+ network, not BrandMeister. If you are looking at the DV4Mini for use on the BrandMeister network I would look elsewhere.Please consider the DVMega or OpenSpot/SharkRF products instead.The DV4Mini is a USB dongle that give the operator an ability to connect into DMR, D-Star, Fusion and other networks. For DMR both DMR+ and BrandMeister are support.

This discussion will not include setting up the dongle as getting the software to work can be a challenge. There are a couple of URLs you will need to get started.

The PAPA System is evaluating the BrandMeister network for it's Motorola MotoTRBO DMR Repeaters. This is one of several posts with information about the features and capabilities of the BrandMeister network. Please see the links at the bottom of this page for reference links.The BrandMeister servers have a gateway to APRS.fi for location information. Setting up GPS support on your radio is easy and once setup works well. Basic settings can be found at http://bm.pd0zry.nl/index.php/Motorola_Radios. You will need to update the ARS Radio ID based on your country. See the country specific page on the BrandMeister wiki for details. For the US this is https://bm.pd0zry.nl/index.php/United_States